In the Woods

A walk in the woods….there are two distinct kinds of that experience.

Along a wooded trail, where you can appreciate the shade but don’t have to watch your feet.

And, lost. Or off-trail, even when you know generally where you are.
Oh it ain’t no jungle here on the Pocono Plateau. But there are certain..eco-niches which could give the Amazon a run for the money.
Take the “rhododendron slick”. It looks harmless from outside, after all, the rhododendron are only bush-height, how tough could it possibly be? But, even a few yards in, you’ll find out. You can’t go in a straight line because of the labyrinthine roots and branches. And your feet sink in: when you free one foot from the sucking bog, you discover that the effort has only driven the other foot deeper. Plus there’s no place to set the free foot! My takeaway: DO NOT ENTER.

But this afternoon, we were just off-trail in a part of our native deciduous and pine forest. And it was arduous! The floor is covered by ferns, the smaller bright green ones or the big,dark shiny-leafed ones—if you see them, you know the ground is swampy. So you can’t see where you’re putting your feet. They cover branches, rocks, vines. Then there are fallen trees , some which you have to sit on and swing your legs over, some with still-flexible branches which can easily trip you up. Tall briars which tenaciously attach to whatever touches them: your clothes, your bare skin. The ground is uneven, pitted, ridged. In short, it’s no walk in the park!

But I’m glad we got a little lost today. It provides a rediscovery of and intimacy with the forest that a familiar trail can’t yield.
Happy August!